At Baobab Educational Assessment Centre we acknowledge that play is a natural and essential part of childhood and it can be used as an effective way to teach. One of our highly successful products from Baobab has been the Get Out of the classroom series where we use traditional games such as Tsoro and Nhodo to teach children numeracy, reading, and spelling, among others. Most of us are not aware of how important play is, but our traditional games can be used to see a child’s eye and hand coordination, fine motor skills, creativity, and gross motor skills.
Allowing children to play gives them the room to improve their language and literacy skills through word games and storytelling, grasp maths concepts through number games and puzzles, and improve their social skills through role-playing and group games. Play is a good time for adults to relax and also get to bond with children to create healthy attachment styles.
Harnessing the power of play in early grades makes learning enjoyable and fun for children, and the benefits of play are also not lost. Some of the benefits of play include developing social skills, enhancing creativity and imagination, building problem solving skills, and fostering emotional intelligence. The Get Out of the classroom series has been a fun way to actively involve children in the learning process and increase their participation. Traditional games can be adapted to meet the needs of children with learning difficulties, and they are a good way to connect home to school and learning. With the use of traditional games, parents can also be involved in the learning process as learning continues outside of the classroom.